its a proof of our insecurities and desire to gloss over our real problems by pushing what we can forward. even if it means selling someone like Bobby Jindal who has no relevance whatsoever to our lives. i think it allows us to ignore real issues and live in a bubble.

besides forwards dont cost anything.

“Is it going to increase sale of samosa’s in the country?”

^ Yes - it will. Infact, after finding out that Elizabeth Hurley (who is married to an Indian) liked papri-chaat, I strolled over to Haldirams and picked up some for myself.

I’ve fumed and picked battles with people who’ve criticised India about the filth and heat, turning up their noses on the pace of development here. True, things here aren’t as rosy here as they are in Western countries. But who is going to try to make a change and a difference if the youth of the country disappear to pursue a higher quality of life and seek more convenience? Understandably, many are pressured by circumstances to leave for a better deal but many also have a choice to return.

On events like Independence Day and Republic Day, their ‘patriotism’ overflows, which seems questionable. Over the years, the few things that appeal to such people are Bollywood and shopping here. Sadly, these are the only tid bits of information on India they pass on to their children. Annoyingly, I have cousins there who consider Bollywood as a part of Indian culture.

I never got the Sunita Williams thing either. There are plenty of “homegrown” heroes here in India itself. Why not celebrate them?

But Candy… why do you care if ppl bring up negative things about India? So it is hot here. So it is dirty and people pee on the roadside and driving is terrible and there is corruption. So what? Those things are all true. But those facts do not negate that it’s still an amazing country with rich history, deep and thriving cultures, strong people, diverse cuisines… the list goes on and on. When people bring up the negatives, smile and agree… just say “yes, you’re right, and we all love it anyway”

Gaurav, I believe that ‘living in a bubble’ mentality does nothing but hurt our progress more.

Sobti, Oh well. I guess then you are representative of the mentality that I am trying to criticize here

Candy, Great point. If we are criticizing the country and turn away from problems; who else is going to change the situation. We need not be leaders or big shots to do the same. We can do our small deed like keeping our premises clean, paying taxes on time, not encouraging castism and religious tensions etc.

smallsquirrel, That is so sweet. I say the same to people… “… we all love it anyways “

Small Squirrel.. I agreed that India isn’t without problems. The issue here is that the migrants from India don’t appreciate anything about India once they move. They turn up their noses and go on about how much more advanced the Western world is. All these are facts of course. But what I don’t like is that many of these people don’t appreciate a lot of the good things in India and paint a really awful picture to others and their kids. Cmon, every country in the world has issues. Even US & UK.

Candy… agreed. Every country in the world has issues… plenty of them.

But you cannot convince people who don’t want to be convinced! And at the end of the day, does one really *have* to love India just because they were born here? I agree that it is sad that they paint a one-sided and bleak picture of India to others, and cannot seem to appreciate it. But you cannot MAKE people like it here. Maybe it’s just not for them, and that is why they left… they find the issues in other places easier to deal with than the issues here.

it’s like a food item. if I don’t like it and refuse to eat it, will you really convince me otherwise?

Small Squirrel.. I don’t want them to love India if they don’t want to. And I did mention that many people migrate because of circumstances. So I’m not arguing that they should stay back and love the country. I’m just saying that they should AT LEAST respect their roots by imparting some non critical information about the country to their off spring and those inquisitive about it.

candy… yes, I do agree that is probably the least they could do.

I agree with Candy. ‘What is being imparted in our children?’ is a big issue for discussion. Not just people living abroad but ones who are in India do the same. I have seen many parents whose sole aim of life is to send their kids abroad someway or other. The kids are taught to not like the country they are born in!

We Indians are such a hearty people, we have been moulded as such due to this 9th circle over that IS India.
I have noticed that if you take an Indian out of India, and put him in any of those poor unsuspecting countries of Europe or US, s/he will carve a nice little niche for themselves there.
INDIA is the MAIN reason why INDIANS dont succeed.
Remove India from the equation, and we kick the worlds ass.

Ashley,

I live in the US…still Indian though. I completely agree that it is useless for Indians to take pride in achievments of non-indians just because they share our skin color. It is one thing to be appreciative of efforts of the diaspora to reach great heights in various fields. Its another, for Indians in India, and particularly the Indian media to hype up trailblazers like Bobby Jindal or Sunita Williams. What these individuals achieve/d has absolutely nothing to do with India. It does show our colonial babu mindset to put those people on pedestal who have achieved something in the West. Funnily enough these days, people of indian origin abroad crave for things Indian. They want their kids to speak the native tongue, learn classical music/dance etc whereas everytime I land in Mumbai, when i speak in hindi to the immigration officer, he/she always respond in English. Further urban India is increasingly becoming no different than urban cities of the west. Its only in the rural areas can you still feel that you are in India.

ashley , you seem to be excessively harsh about sunita williams . admit that there should be more desi home grown heroes .But dont deny Indians living abroad a few inspirational people from their country of residence .

I see what you are saying Ashley.
You said:
“I am one of those people always found preaching others about the not leaving the country, how we should do things to preserve our culture etc”

Well. your efforts are commendable. However, I would like to point out that everyone I have run into, talked to, or read their work (like this site) seems to be - and it is going to sound harsh - mimicking United States.
There has to be a little something in the root of the thinking process in India - little something that some may call envy, “I-am-equal-if-not-better-to-umricans” etc. I am not saying that indeed is the case.
But what patriotism ? What “culture”?
I stumbled upon this site today for the first time. And all I see here is what I see in the US - US food chain reviews, relationship advice that would make US folks blush, cheating the system, highly critical attitude (which I am also guilty of - by posting this), living the american dream, etc.

I do believe an average young indian wants to somehow relate to Bobby Jindal, Sunita Williams (perhaps there is ‘how-can-he-she-get-to-do-that-while-i-am-stuck-here” or perhaps it is a way to magically place oneself in the US for a short bit). And don’t get me started on the IT folks in India idealizing Bill Gates.

I look at this “web 2.0″ site and while I am very excited and impressed by what desi folks are doing - I am disappointed that all of this is merely a copy of what was done elsewhere years ago.

We, as a country, will gain some respect when we truly believe in what we do and take pride in what we “did” before taking up these “they-may-think-it-is-a-crap-job-but-I-am-too-cool-for-around-here’ outsourcing jobs.
Getting some true Indian-ness would help.

could you please explain “true indianess?”
that smacks of jingoism to me!

not to be harsh, but you sound like a grandmother saying things like “in my day no girl wore pants!”

How are people here mimicking the US?

Really think about your answer….